Tom Kratman

Tom Kratman is a retired US Army officer turned science and military fiction author. Kratman was born in Boston and attended “Boston Latin”, before he quit aged 17 to join the army. He loves to refer to himself as a political defector and refugee from Massachusetts Peoples Republic. He got the name after quitting Boston Latin aged only 17, which caused a lot of his distress for his teachers who thought he had better things to look forward to. He became an enlisted man in the army serving in the 193rd Infantry Brigade in Panama, and the 101st Airborne while attending college during his free time. Learning of his passion for education the Army granted Kratman a scholarship at Boston College, from where he got his degree in 1980. Returning to the military, he was commissioned and served as an infantry officer, before he was sent on a three-year tour in Panama, went to Fort Benning for more schooling, and then nearly five years in Savannah, Georgia with the 24th Infantry Division. He served in Recruiting Command for a while and became the only officer called away from USAREC when the “Gulf War” broke out. He got a transfer to Special Operations Command, and was actively engaged in the war with the 5th Special Forces. While he loved the army, he soon grew tired of the increasingly nonviolent and non-militant tones against communism the army was taking and decided to leave. While he was with the army, he earned the Ranger Tab and a Combat Infantry Badge.